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We as a people have had a fascination with space for a long time. I have always appreciated artistic representations of our solar system and other systems at work out of the earth's atmosphere. It takes a specific eye to present that kind of  data in a way that is beautiful to all. Because of the magnanimity and otherworldliness of space, people want to see interpretations of it that they can understand. With modern technology, we can now take beautiful pictures of galaxies and stars farther away than is fathomable to us. There is less of a mystery surrounding what is out there, but people are still infatuated with the difference between earth and everywhere else. A particularly interesting force people have been experimenting with is gravity. It is becoming more and more accessible for people to experience zero or altered gravity, and for those that cannot experience it, they can still watch videos of what happens when the the pull of the earth disappears. My favorite example ...

Nano silver particles This weeks topic caught my attention because nanotechnology is something that I  encounter in my everyday life. I found the use of nano silver to be especially interesting. Silver has been used for hundreds of years for its antibacterial properties, even before people fully understood what bacteria was. Ancient European nobilities used silver tableware as a way to prevent food poisoning. Settlers would place silver in their water and milk jugs to prevent spoilage (Nowack). Although people have been taking advantage of silver for a long time, the use of nano silver has only been present for about a hundred years, and more recently it has become popular in activewear. A nanosilver textile This is one of Lululemon's Silverscent tanktops Companies are now sewing nano silver into their garments because of its antibacterial properties. As activewear becomes more and more of a  in the modern wardrobe, the demand for high quality, longer l...

Checking out Stalia Grigg's movie After visiting the Weak or No Signal gallery, I was honestly feeling a little off-put and uncomfortable. I imagine if the artists were to read this they wouldn't be surprised by my feelings.  Some of the exhibits, and the showcase as a whole, left me on somewhat of a sensory overload. There were so many background noises, flickers from screens, and digital media references everywhere that I could not figure out what to focus on. I perceived it to be a commentary on the lack of rest for our minds in this digital age. There is almost no time that we are alone with our thoughts. We are constantly taking up more and more information. Some of Joveta's Cyanotypes Eli Joveta's pieces were my favorite. They were cyanotypes, which use a photographic printing process that produce cyan-blue images, commonly known as blueprints. They were absolutely beautiful. Joveta also displayed moving images (resembling those in his prints)...

I found the discovery and prescription of now illegal psychedelic drugs to be fascinating. Upon their first encounter with LSD, it is not surprising that doctors and scientists wanted to further explore it's capabilities in aiding epidemics like depression, tendency to violence, and alcoholism. As there were no foreseeable damages to use of this drug at its discovery, it was heavily experimented with. The use of LSD was only received as a real treatment for about a ten year experimentation period before the public and most of the scientific field grew wary of its affects, although it continued to have a strong influence on 1960's counterculture. Psychedelic drugs had a massive impact on the art of this time, as much of it was inspired or in the style of the hallucinogenic state these drugs created. People were consistently trying to mimic the effects of tripping out through paintings and drawings. You can see it in the curved lines and the warped proportions, people wanted t...

I have never considered genetic engineering to be an art form until looking into Eduardo Kac's ideology behind his project, the GFP Bunny. As the creative leader of this transgenic piece, he publicized  the idea of using genetic engineering as a way to bring artwork to life by creating one of a kind living organisms rather than working with inanimate mediums. To create GFP bunny he inserted bioluminescent DNA into a rabbit embryo, causing the rabbit to glow under a UV light. This insertion of bioluminescent genes is a common practice in medical research, but it caused quite a stir among animal rights activists when used for an art piece. The outrage by activists was rather unmerited. Kac and his family took wonderful care of the rabbit. His goal was to expand people's definition of art to include interactive art, sometimes in the form of living organisms. Even though he considers the bunny to be an art piece, it is still in need of love, care, and social interaction. He think...

Gromala walking through a VR simulation I think what Diane Gromala had to say about using biofeedback and virtual reality as a way to combat chronic pain was absolutely fascinating. I have looked into biofeedback myself and although I have never received this treatment I remember being very interested in the process. There are biofeedback specialists in Seattle that work with people who are unable to stop registering pain signals from an area of the body, even if that area is not hurt. This can often come as a result of preexisting injury or illness.The doctors attach sensors to the patient to track indicators of stress and pain through brain waves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature. The sensors are then hooked up to screens so the patients can see how their body is reacting to stimuli or thought. The doctors have their patients look at their individual data and use visual cues to coach the patient into a state of reduced stress and use it to retr...